Of the NBA's 30 teams, nine are already locks or near-locks
(at least 95%) to make the playoffs. That leaves seven spots (3
in the West, 4 in the East) that are still up for grabs and
12 teams that still have a realistic shot (at least 5%) to
grab one. Compare that to the first week of February a year ago,
when only four playoff spots were still in
doubt.

At the other end, nine teams can go ahead and start making
plans for the end of April and the rest of the summer.